Returning to Prague for the first time in five years, The Chemical Brothers play a massive show at T-Mobile Arena on Friday 10th.
Currently promoting We Are the Night, their sixth studio album, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have come a long way since meeting in a medieval history class.
Early Years
Originally from London, Rowlands and Simon were each lured north by Manchester's legendary music scene and met at university there.
Soon, the two music fanatics began to DJ together, combining hip-hop, house, and techno.
Initially known as The 237 Turbo Nutters, the duo later changed its name to The Dust Brothers in a tribute to the US production team of the same name.
After running out of hip-hop beats to sample, the Brothers started to make their own music, beginning with Song to the Siren in 1992.
Breakthrough
Impressed by the record, London DJ Andrew Weatherall began to include the track in his sets and, in 1993, signed The Dust Brothers to his Junior Boy's Own label.
Returning to London after university, the Rowlands & Simon soon established themselves in the capital, DJing at the massively influential Heavenly Sunday Social Club night.
Bridging the gap between the dance and indie rock scenes, The Dust Brothers were quickly became stars, releasing two much sought-after EPs and remixing the likes of The Prodigy, the Manic Street Preachers, Primal Scream and The Charlatans.
Following a legal threat from the real Dust Brothers, Tom & Ed changed names shortly before the release of their debut album, 1995's Exit Planet Dust.
Next, a friendship with Oasis's Noel Gallagher, dating back to the Heavenly Social days, pushed The Chemical Brothers even further into the spotlight.
After The Chemical Brothers supported the moody Mancs at two huge open-air shows, the elder Gallagher contributed vocals to Setting Sun, the first Chemical Brothers single to top the UK pop charts.
Setting Son featured on 1997's hugely successful Dig Your Own Hole, an eclectic mixture of up-front beats and dreamy psychedelia that's generally considered to be the Chemical Brothers' best album.
Later Career
Gallagher returned for Let Forever Be, one of many big-name collaborations on Surrender, the 1999 follow-up to Dig....
In the wake of those two high-profile releases, 2001's Come With Us -- an attempt to recapture the spirit of underground dance music -- felt a little underwhelming.
Suggestions that The Chemical Brothers had run out of ideas were silenced by 2004's Push the Button, however, which found the Brothers back at their diverse best.
Perhaps unexpectedly, The Chemical Brothers have a reputation for dazzling live shows, and have gone all out on the We Are the Night tour.
Fresh from festival appearances around Europe, the Chemicals arrive in Prague armed with a mind-melting array of lasers, lights, and LED screens.
Sam Beckwith
TICKET AVAILABILITY
Advance tickets are available via the Ticketpro and Ticketportal networks.
TICKET PRICE: 770 CZK
START TIME: 8pm
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